Is it just me? (Lee 6 cavity issue)

[Dahak]

I have 3 Lee 6 cavity molds (429-240-2r, 452-230-2r, and 358-158-swc). The second chamber (with #1 being the furthest from the handles) for all three is the stickiest. The rest of the chambers release the bullet upon opening (at least once I get to the right temp). Only the second chamber makes me reach for the wood mallet, and all it takes is a single firm rap to get the last bullet to release.

I very new to casting so before I get myself carried away with looking for burrs, polishing, etc, I thought I would check in. Since its the same chamber for all, I would believe that the problem is technique, but the sample size is small, so maybe it's a Lee issue (not saying defect, just maybe something with the design?)

All molds were washed to remove any manufacturing oils and then heat cycled before the first use. I use anti-seize as my sprue cutter, rotating part lube, but no lube has ever touched the casting chambers, Probably too much info, but I want to be sure before I start trying permanent, material removing fixes.

Is it me, is it time to read the polishing a mold threads, or is 1 rap how it is supposed to work?

[Winger Ed.]

One rap is pretty common.

You might have a burr.
I've had a couple on Lee molds that make a cavity want to stick.

I polished mine by rubbing the open face of the mold on my blue jeans pants leg.
Being Alum. I didn't want to use anything 'violent' like sand paper.
That worked for me,
but these molds are also sort of like Grandma's old cast Iron frying pan- the more you use it the better it gets.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Try rotating the way you fill the mold. Start with the cavity closest to you and fill away. Next pour, start with the cavity furthest from you and fill towards you. This way kind of evens out any hot spots. It is worth a try.

[megasupermagnum]

I would not touch those molds. Chances are good that you are not producing perfect bullets. Bullets are not supposed to fall out of a mold. Some will, and some wont. About the only thing that MIGHT all fall out of a 6 cavity is a round ball. I worry that if you expect the bullets to fall out, you are doing something that isn't producing as good of bullets as you can. You should be opening your mold carefully, you should not be feeling much resistance. Your bullets should not be shiny, and they should at least stick somewhat in the mold. If not, I doubt they are completely filled out. On my best days, with my best molds, 1-2 wacks with a mallet per shot is the expectation on a 5-6 cavity mold.

[dannyd]

You guy's are going to hate me; but I have six or seven Lee 6 cavity molds and they work fine. I DO SMOKE the Molds. Now their Two Cavity molds I have one from 30 years ago I still can't make work.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

you don't say how much casting you've done with these molds?
You also don't say if these were new molds? but the mention of "manufacturing oils" suggest it.

Anyway, some new molds need 3 or 4 ...or even 8 or 10 casting sessions to get broke in and to start casting well.
Sometimes, they will cast well right out of the box.
From your description of the potential problem, I suspect there is no problem...Keep casting.
One thing to try is casting at different "mold" temperatures, sometimes one temp will release the boolits better than other temps.
This Article/Chapter mentions how to adjust mold temperature
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_2_Casting101.htm

Also, you said you have one that's casting small?
Is it the 44 cal mold?
How much smaller than .429 are the boolits?

[mnewcomb59]

Punch a small hole in a piece of paper the size of a postage stamp. Once your mold is hot, open the sprue plate, place your paper on the bad cavity, then set a 3/8 nut on the paper and cast through the nut. Now you have a bullet cast through a nut with the nut a few thousandths above the mold surface. When the mold cools, put some comet or ajax on the bullet, close it in the cavity and rotate back and forth for about 20 seconds.

The polishing action from the abrasive cleaners will remove any burrs. Don't polish too much or you can enlarge the hole. One time I had a 2 stroke oil accident and got it all in the cavities of a hot mold. I had to clean every single cavity with a nut-bullet and comet before it would cast right again.

[Dahak]

3-4 casting sessions on each of the molds. I have not smoked the molds.

Based on the input so far, I'll rub the edges with leather/wood, just something to manage any burrs (no harm that I can see even if not needed), then I'll ignore it for another few sessions before thinking about lapping the chambers. Plus, 1 rap isn't that bad, I just found it weird that it is the same chamber on all three molds that is being sticky.

Thanks for all the help!

[gwpercle]

Take a new cotton Q-Tip and rub it over all edges and surfaces ... the smallest of burrs will snag the cotton on the Q-Tip . Remove any / all "snaggers" .

I usually tap my mould hinge from 1 to 3 times ... light raps are better than 1 or 2 hard knocks .
No rule that says they must fall on the first blow .

For a new mould ... de-burr all edges and coat the cavities with Liquid Wrench Dry Lube #L512 ... I have a small bottle of liquid that I apply with a Q-Tip but you can also use the spray on . This acts as a mould release , lead doesn't stick to it so it's good for block top and both sides of sprue plate .
It doesn't contaminate the cavities either . To prevent rust ... I spray them with LW L512 before storage ... it doesn't need to be removed when next casting ... the dry lube film isn't messy .

Do read some of the "stickies" lots of hard earned knowledge there ... use it .

Welcome to the Forum from Baton Rouge , Louisiana ! :drinks: Gary